Ghostly Tiger
by NJ7009
Summary: After Tigress dies, Viper locks herself in her room and grieves. Refusing to leave her room. But a visit from the same dead tiger could be just the thing needed to bring the snake out of the darkness of depression. For AnimationGirl's birthday :) One Shot.


**This is dedicated to AnimationGirl, my best friend :) Hope you enjoy this and have a wonderful birthday :D **

**I don't own KFP**

_"There are many types of monsters in this world."_

_"Monsters who kill, monsters who abduct, monsters who ruin the lives of others... Monsters who lie, monsters who destroy, monsters who fight... but want to know who are the most terrifying monsters? The most terrifying monsters are the supernatural monsters, namely, ghosts. As nobody really knows whether they exist or if they are just figments which mess with our minds." _

X-X-X

Viper has always been the most _motherly _person in the Jade Palace. Her calm nature, her everlasting kindness, and the soft smile she wears while she acts _motherly_ are some of her most renown qualities. Due to this, she was the most adored by children out of the Furious Five.

However, Viper has another side to her as well. A quick, poised and deadly side which - combined with a strong will to protect those she cares for - makes her a master in the art of Kung Fu.

But the day Tigress died was the day neither of these sides of Viper were shown. She didn't act motherly nor did she act like a Kung Fu Master. She simply locked herself in her room and laid in a pile on her bed; too depressed to move. The flowers which rested on the side of her face falling limply on to the mattress - wilting due to lack of water which Viper felt too saddened to give them.

Days passed and she didn't move. As time continued to pass and Tigress' funeral loomed closer, Po and other members of the Five - Four - tried to convince the snake to leave her room. "C'mon, Viper. You can't stay in there forever! I made noodles!" Po had said on one occasion

"We are sorry about, Tigress, but you have to move on. You have to eat." Monkey had said on another occasion.

The other members of the 'four' also made vain attempts to console the master but each failed; even Shifu's attempts were in vain. However, they all understood her feelings about the death of the tiger so they didn't put much heart into it. They all missed Tigress' hardcore, loyal and determined personality and her demanding voice which used to echo down the halls of the Jade Palace.

Tigress was the leader of the Furious Five. It felt like the five was now missing a vital part of them, like a vital organ, and could no longer function properly and was, slowly but surely, withering away into a pile of dust. A pile of nothing. A pile of something which would someday get cleaned away and forgotten by anyone which knew it. Like it was never there.

Like Tigress never existed.

Viper didn't want the five - the old five - to get lost to history.

Tigress was like a sister to her; the only person she could talk to about matters which were concerning her which she couldn't bring herself to discuss with the other members of the five and Po. Even if the matter was on a subject the tiger saw as stupid or irrelevant, she listened without complaint. Tigress, actually, wasn't LIKE a sister to Viper. She WAS Viper's sister; the closest thing possible to a sister, anyway. Viper even felt closer to Tigress than she did with either of her sisters.

Or at least she did.

Tigress was gone.

Dead.

And it was because of her.

It was because of Viper that Tigress was dead and no longer on Earth; no longer breathing, fighting and protecting.

The death of the tiger had been due to the snake's mistake. The Five and Po had fought a group of wolves - some of Shen's most trusted generals - and Viper wasn't paying attention to her surroundings as she fought. Due to this, she didn't see the arrow fired in her direction from the wolf, Crane, was in the middle of fighting.

Crane had tried to warn her but by then it was too late. It was too late to move or dodge, even with her speed. The snake could also stay where she was and wait for the arrow to pierce her...

... what it ended up piercing wasn't Viper.

The tiger master was dead before she could even let out a cry of pain and before Viper could even wish her goodbye. The tiger had died without any warmth from love; only pain from loneliness and her fatal injury.

If the Kung Fu snake had been faster or had paid more attention, Tigress wouldn't have needed to intervene to save her friend's - sister's - life. And then Tigress would still be alive. They would all have still been alive.

Eventually, after four days of not moving an inch or eating a scrap of food, Viper shifted and unravelled from her curled up position. Tigress would advise her, if she was still alive, to stop loafing around and that it wasn't going to solve anything. She would advise the snake to interact with the other masters in the Jade Palace again and start acting like the Viper she knew.

However, the second Tigress' voice sprung into Viper's mind, she curled herself up again. The memory of Tigress stung and caused great guilt in the snake. Closing her eyes, the snake master tried to sleep and forget her guilt for a while.

For a minute...

For a moment...

For a second.

X-X-X

_"Viper..."_

_"Viper!..." _

_"VIPER!" _

The voice was familiar, but Viper knew the be longer of the voice was dead. Tigress. It must be her imagination. Or was it...

After some mental debate, Viper finally opened her eyes but what she saw shocked her. Tigress, complete in flesh in blood, was stood at the foot of the snake's bead. Her golden eyes were emotionless like they always were besides when the tiger fought, where they lit up with pure joy, her clothes were in perfect condition without a crinkle in sight and the tiger's orange and black striped fur was neat and tidy.

The only thing different about Tigress was the fact she was alive and the injury she had sustained which eventually killed the tiger was gone. Tigress was like she was two minutes before her death.

"Tigress?!" Viper murmured with shock and surprise in her tone. Her voice was raspy due to lack of use and the snake choked on a sob.

The tiger smiled ever so slightly before she walked closer to the stunned snake. She didn't speak; she only placed a single hand on the snake's head.

_"I will never be gone, Viper, no enemy will ever totally get rid of me." _

Tigress then removed the two flowers from the snake's head which were badly wilting and placed two fresh yellow flowers there instead.

_"Don't live your life in mourning!"_

X-X-X

Viper awoke with a jolt. She was unsure whether she had dreamed the entire thing or if Tigress had actually been there. It hadn't felt that real and it was unrealistic if the latter was true. However, the yellow flowers atop her head proved it was.

X-X-X

Viper never completely got over the death of Tigress, however, her ghostly visit comforted the snake. She didn't feel so guilty and eventually, she managed to recover enough to leave her room and attend the tiger's funeral with many other Kung Fu Masters.

However, when the funeral had ended, Viper returned to the grave and placed the two yellow flowers Tigress had given her atop the hole in the ground.

"I won't!"

**APOLOGIES FOR THE BAD ENDING XD**


End file.
